Two-sided adhesive tape finds many uses in industry. For example, a number of manufacturing operations require the placement of a plastic part over another part typically made of metal or plastic. Double-sided adhesive tape is used to adhere one piece to the other.
In any assembly line production, the goal is to produce a product with a minimum of cost. In particular, in the automotive industry, cost savings are of great importance. Time and motion studies are often performed to ensure that certain operations on an assembly line are performed in the most efficient manner possible. With practice, a worker's performance can be optimized.
In the automotive industry, it is desirable to produce a variety of vehicle models with a minimum of expense. Accordingly, standard body portions made of metal are often modified by using accessories which can be adhered to the regular vehicle body in order to create a different impression. Most often, these plastic additions are molded in non-linear shapes in order to provide visual appeal.
In a typical manufacturing operation, a metal body part is provided to a worker along with a plastic accessory which has been molded into a shape adapted to fit snugly against the surface of the body part. Normally, the worker will apply a band of an activating liquid to the body part surface where the adhesive tape is to be applied. This activator will cause the adhesive tape to stick very strongly to the body part when it has had an opportunity to cure briefly. The worker then applies a line of two-sided tape over the body part surface to which the activator has been applied. The surface of the tape facing the body part is adhesive while the outward facing surface of the tape is covered with a protective strip which prevents the protected side of the tape from sticking to the unprotected side of the tape on a roll, and allows the worker to manipulate the tape without sticking to the outward-facing side thereof. The worker is required to manoeuvre the tape along a non-linear path, and to apply sufficient pressure to the tape in order to “wet out” the tape by removing bubbles in the entrained liquid below. This requires a significant amount of manual dexterity on the part of the worker at various stages including laying down the activator, laying down the tape on top of the activator over the predetermined path, and applying appropriate pressure to the tape in order to ensure that it will be fastened securely and will perform its function adequately.
After the tape has been applied, the backing on the outward face of the tape is removed and the plastic accessory is fastened to the body part.
This entire process is somewhat intricate and time-consuming. Accordingly, it is highly labour intensive. Worker errors are costly, in terms of both additional labour costs, and delays in production.
Accordingly, it would be an advantage to reduce the time required to perform these taping operations while retaining or improving the level of precision of a skilled worker. In addition, it would be an advantage to provide a method of applying tape which is uniform, predictable and reproducible, using an apparatus which is cost-effective.